50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Impressive World-Class Tour Company
Pembury Tours made my lifelong safari dream come true. My immense gratitude to Kerry who went above and beyond while organizing a customized tour to Sabi Sands (Kruger). Her knowledge of the different game reserves and enthusiasm was remarkable. All communication was done by email only and could not have been more efficient. Being a woman travelling solo to Africa for the first time, I needed to feel secure with the company's professionalism.
The three places I stayed in, which Kerry recommended, were absolutely sensational and the staff knew of my specific needs and requests in advance. All transfers were of the highest quality; the drivers being punctual, professional and friendly. I always felt safe.
Kerry also informed me of a special rate on offer at one of the camps and booked internal flights. She informed me of baggage allowance with the different flights and airports so I could choose my preferred option.
Being on safari in Sabi Sands truly surpassed my wildest dreams! I was able to get many fascinating photos with my new camera too. I would certainly say it was my most memorable trip to date. I plan to go back to Africa and will certainly be using Pembury Tours again. I am very happy to give my highest recommendation of the company to anyone interested.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kasanka National Park by West Tribe
The abundance of wildlife is minimal when compared to heavyweights like the neighboring (relatively speaking, it took me 2 days to get from one to the other) South Luangwa National Park. However this much smaller park has an ace up its sleeve. Every year around the end of October, through to early December about 10,000,000 fruit bats gather from across central Africa and watching them take off at dusk and return at dawn is an unforgettable sight. Along with that the birding opportunities are great.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing and affordable.
There are innumerable advantages that South Luangwa National Park hold above the local competition, not least of which is the affordability of the surrounding lodges. I arrived from Lusaka via local bus for about 40.00$, another 25.00$ taxi fare got me to my lodge (flat dogs) and 20.00$/night secured me a cabin with 2 bedrooms, 4 beds, A/C, fans and a shower. Another 40.00$/game drive, night or day + 20.00$/day park entry fee and that pretty much covered my expense. Food at the lodges tends to be expensive (15.00$ - 25.00$) however a quick excursion to town will allow you to soak in some local atmosphere and eat at local restaurants for about 1.00$ a meal. The wildlife is by no means confined to the park, I often opened the front door to my cabin to find elephants standing within 20 meters, hippos, banded mongooses, giraffes, grey crowned cranes, fish eagles, vervet monkeys and baboons are all frequent visitors to the lodge and the list goes on. The park itself was great, absolutely packed with fantastic wildlife, one of the few to offer spotlight game drives at night and not too crowded. For some photos of the park feel free to view - https://www.flickr.com/photos/84579258@N06/albums/72157676475945555
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Zambia by West Tribe
1) Highly accessible (English is the main language), prices are affordable, the local transit (while a little chaotic) is easily utilized, locals are generally friendly and helpful
2) Safe, there was never any sense of risk that I experienced in Lusaka, Livingstone, Kasanka or Mfuwe. Police are corrupt but not so much so that I had to pay for, or herd of people being harassed for bribes.
3) Amazing sights and activities, my personal highlights included swimming at the edge of Victoria Falls, while little fish nibbled the dead skin off my body like some Vietnamese spa, watching up to 10,000,000 fruits bats take off from the canopy in Kasanka National Park, rafting down the Zambezi and a seemingly endless number of great sights in South Luangwa.
TR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simply superb..
Squeezed in a Safari during a business trip with the very little time and Patrick Hanratty was very helpful making it all possible. He has managed to organise it all to the very last detail. Had an amazing experience with Mmilo Tours. My tour guide Willem Heckroodt was superb - prompt, wealth of knowledge and very friendly. Thank you so much for making this happen.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A breathtaking trip with much more animals than expected
We were in Uganda to work there for about five weeks, so we thought the safari could be a good diversion. Our guide picked us up and took us in a whole day ride to murchison falls. Even when we arrived in the area we could see some baboons, elephants and pumas, it was stunningly. Then in the park we saw a great number of elephants, hippos, buffalos, giraffes, baboons, antelopes, birds and all of their kids. We spend three nights in the national park, had a great time while game driving and the nile cruise. The safari van was very comfortable, much more better than the other cars we had known from africa, and the guide was also very cool so we could spend some time just talking. He was connected to other guides and we had the chance to see a leopard and some lions two times.
It was such a great trip we will never forget! Thanks for the guided tour!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The perfect vacation - Namibia with heart and soul
In April 2017 we went on vacation to experience the highlights of Namibia. Heike exceeded our expectations: The tour she had planned for us as well as the accommodations she booked for us were just awesome. Heike even informed the staff in our lodges about my different allergies. Thus, I was able to taste the delicious food without having to be afraid of any allergic reaction. Furthermore, the tour itself was a perfect mixture of relaxation and "sightseeing". We were able to see a lot of beautiful landscapes and animals but we didn't have the impression of being on a rush. There was still some time to relax and just enjoy being on a holiday. In addition to that, it was a relief to know that we could call Heike in case of emergency. When we visited Swakopmund, Heike and her husband met us for a sundowner. The two of them told us a lot about the country itself and the living conditions. A special service we enjoyed a lot! Not only is Heike the perfect person to plan your holidays, but also to have a sundowner with!
To summarize, we recommend Heike to everyone who wants to spend his or her holidays in Namibia! I think that she did an amazing job and one thing I can say for sure: We are coming back to Namibia!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Loved the safari and Katekani lodge!
We loved the safari! We both wished we'd done it for longer than 4 days.
We found the employees to be really helpful and friendly, the accommodation was lovely especially the Katekani lodge. We loved the fact there were only a few lodges there and they were all hidden amongst the bushes plus the food was delicious! I'd highly recommend staying there.
The only issue we had was with the private game reserve we went to that was just down the road from Katekani. We felt the driver had no real interest in showing us any animals and when we did see some, there was no real effort to show them to us. We got the impression our driver must have ranked a lot lower down the chain as other drivers made him move out of the way so they could get better views.
We were also not expecting to drive for as long as we did. It took 8 hours to get there and 10 hours to get back! If we had known, we might have chosen to fly in instead!
But other than that we really did enjoy the safari. I'd have no issue recommending Safari with Us to anyone.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Time at Marc's Treehouse
We loved our stay at Marc's Treehouse. The coordinator at the treehouse was so friendly and awesome! We had such a fun time. The treehouse we were in was wonderful, safe but still felt like camping! The food was also great! We enjoyed all of our private reserve drives, bush walks, and Kruger day. It was so much fun. We stayed at Tremisani lodge for one night. It was also relaxing. Our room was very toasty and we were supposed to be accomodated in a room of 3 isntad of 2 room but other than that it was wonderful. Definitely recommend!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I felt like part of their family.
Mwajabu runs a company built on constant communication, care, and incredible experiences. Even before I arrived in Tanzania Mwajabu would check in on me every once in a while to confirm my trip and continually make sure I was going to get the experience I wanted. She was able to cater my week long trip to exactly my needs, even being a solo traveler which is extremely difficult to find a company who will host you. Once I arrived the cafe was kicked up even more, I was picked up from the airport by her brother Athman, who was my driver throughout my time in continental Tanzania. I was taken to my hotel the first night as my safari started the following morning. Then at 4 am Athman picked me up and we began our journey to Mikumi National Park. Athman ended up being less of a driver and ultimately a friend I could joke with and laugh with, even given his limited English. At Mikumi, I was introduced to my guide Gilbert, who was extremely knowledgeable about the animals and the area. Again, we interacted more as friends than someone who was being paid to show me around. Before my time in Africa, I got extremely sick in Greece and brought that bug with me o my Safari, during the second day it got extremely bad and I was unable to go on our planned hike to Udzwunga. I messaged Mwajabu and let her know of my issue in which she immediately began to try and help me get better. In about 5 minutes Athman and Gilbert were at my camp ready to take me to the pharmacy to get the mess I needed. Gilbert helped me with translation at the pharmacy and even in rural Africa I was able to get what I needed. I felt like part of their family and really truly cared for. In no time I was feeling better and we went on the incredible hike in Udzwunga where I saw amazing foliage and wildlife while completing an impressive hike to the top of a waterfall. The damp I stayed at, Bastian, was amazing. Every meal was catered around my schedule and time and when I was sick I constantly was being checked on by staff.
After my time in Mikumi, Athman drove me back to Dar airport where I boarded an incredible 20 min flight to Zanzibar. Again, Mwajabu had a driver lined up for me, Abdul, who got me to my beach resort very quickly. The resort was beautiful and I was given the opportunity from Mwajabu to go on both the Stone Town Tour and the spice tour. When it was time for me to go 7 days after my arrival, I was sad to go as I had been taken care of so perfectly. Mwajabu even had arrangements for me to connect from the domestic terminal to the international terminal in DAR. I would tecxomoned Mwajabu and Hello Tanzania 10 out of 10 times, it was beyond was I expected and I got way more than my money's worth. Thank You Mwajabu, Athman, Gilbert, and Abdul for and amazing expertise. Hopefully I will be back soon!!!